Local

Stray bullets kill LA toddler, critically wound his uncle

Los Angeles police continue to search for a shooter whose bullets killed a toddler and seriously injured his uncle Monday night in South LA. The two were playing on their back porch around 8:30 p.m. when the gunshots hit them.

The bullets passed through a car and a backyard fence and struck the two. The little boy died at a nearby hospital; the uncle was listed in critical condition.

Police say that neither was the target of the shooting, and add that both were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Detectives spent the hours after the incident questioning neighbors and collecting bullet casings.

The Los Angeles Times’ homicide blog indicates that more than 45 violent deaths have taken place within a mile of the house – about 4 miles south of downtown LA - in the last 4 1/2 years.